Thursday, December 19, 2013

When I was 9 (almost 10) years old, I found out that I found out that I had advanced bone age. This means that my bones were growing more than my body needed them to. If my bones were left this way, I would have grown a little bit more and then stop growing entirely. The solution was something called a "supprelin implant." At first, I was very scared. I was told that the implant was going to be inserted in my upper arm above my inner elbow. I was scared because this would take surgery. I would have a little cut where the implant had been inserted. Also, when I was told this, I had been dealing with severe anxiety over weather and separation anxiety. So to sum it all up, I was a total mess of anxiety. I was afraid to get the implant and I didn't want to get it. I didn't understand why I had to get it. My parents and the doctors explained to me why this needed to happen. The day of the surgery, I was at first pretty confident, otherwise very tired as I had to get up at 5:30 am. Then when the surgery was approaching, I started to freak out again. My parents tried to calm me and we said prayers. I felt calmer and the doctors put me to sleep with medicine. I don't remember anything that happened during the surgery. I woke up 35 minutes later and felt pain in my left arm. I looked down and saw the piece of medical tape on my arm where the implant was inserted. I felt woozy and tired. During the time that I was recovering from surgery friends and family sent me gifts an get well cards. Although I was very grateful for their consideration, I felt weird. For a short amount of time, I felt depressed because I felt like I was the only 9 year old in the world to have my arm cut open and have a tube stuck inside of it. But then I learned that girls all around the world were undergoing the same thing as me. The year after that, I got my implant removed and a new one was inserted. This time, I felt much calmer since I knew what was going to happen. That one went a lot better on my part. The year after that, I got my implant removed and a new one was inserted. In February of 2014, I will have my current implant removed. I will not have another implant inserted. I am happy that I got the implant because now my bones match my age and I can grow more as I get older.